Posted on 01/11/2007 5:30:53 PM PST by blam
Family found for gigantic flowers
By Rebecca Morelle
Science reporter, BBC News
The Rafflesiaceae possess some unusual features
The 200-year-old mystery of where one of the world's largest flowers sit in the botanical family tree has finally been solved by scientists. To their surprise, the plants, which have a one-metre-wide, blood-red, rotten-flesh stinking flower, belong to a family of plants bearing tiny blooms.
The Rafflesiaceae were tricky to place because of their unusual features, the team reports in the journal Science.
Such traits include the fact that they are rootless, leafless and stemless.
Their giant blooms, which weigh up to 7kg (15lb) and in appearance and fragrance mimic rotting meat, attract carrion flies that pollinate them.
And the strange plants, which can be found growing on the jungle floor in southeast Asia, are also parasitic. Eschewing the process of photosynthesis, the Rafflesiaceae bed down in the tissue of the tropical grape vine, feasting upon the nutrients it provides.
Dramatic growth
The botanists used DNA analysis to delve into the ancestry of the Rafflesiaceae, revealing that the plants belong to the Euphorbiaceae family.
Plants in this family, which include the rubber tree, castor oil plant and the cassava shrub, are typified by small blossoms, the researchers comment.
Charles Davis, assistant professor of organismic and evolutionary biology at Harvard University and lead author of the paper, said: "These plants are so strange - almost extra-terrestrial - wherever they were placed [within the family tree] there would be a lot of explaining to do.
"The big shocker, of course, is that they fall in the middle of this group with minute flowers."
The botanists believe that about 46 million years ago, the plants' blooms began to evolve at an accelerated pace.
They estimate the flowers developed from a minute 2mm (0.08in) up to their enormous size during this period.
There would have been two main advantages to having such large blooms, Professor Davis told the BBC News website.
"These plants occur exclusively in tropical rainforest under-storeys, which are very dimly lit, and they are restricted to the forest floor. They don't have an easy way of presenting their flowers to various insects for pollination," he explained.
"By maximising their surface area it is much easier to waft the funky smell further distances, which lures carrion flies.
"Their size means they also become a very effective stop sign and visual cue to lure these flies in so that they pollinate the plant."
The world's tallest flower is the Titan Arum, reaching just under 3m (10ft). Like the Rafflesiaceae, it smells of rotting flesh, but does not belong to the same family.
I don't know what a giganic is, but, that is one hugh flower.
Sarracenia Oreophilia
We have these insect eating plants here in South Alabama. They're in the Pitcher Plant family.
Same holds true for humans:
There's an interesting story behind this guy.
Started out pretty simple with a worker who found one plant on their farm that produced oversized green peas. The company (with some name you've never heard) began planting seeds from the one plant and pretty soon had a large crop of large green beans. They decided to start selling them and decided "Green Giant" would be a good name. Long story short, the company prospered with the new beans and eventually changed the company name to Green Giant.
A real big company today. Ho, Ho Ho.
I was surprised to find out recently that Henry Ford was a partner in what is now Kingsford Briquettes.....
Learn something new every day!!
I believe it was Henry who invented the charcoal briquette. A scheme to get people out into the country (picnics, etc) and buy his cars to get there.
That too, maybe....
History Channel (I think) feature on BBQ said that the Ford Motor Company had a lot of wood trimmimgs from the car manufacturing (the frames, other parts, were made largly of wood then).
Ford saw the waste and teamed up with a chemist (maybe that was King) for the binder and partial burning process and....Viola!!
Gotta admire the creativity!
How did we go from flowers to briquettes???
Only on FR!!
:)
I believe it was Henry who invented the charcoal briquette. A scheme to get people out into the country (picnics, etc) and buy his cars to get there.
It was also a way to market all the wood scraps that were left over from building his cars.
Flower porn?
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